There are numerous clips on YouTube promulgated by self-proclaimed experts conveying the importance of androgen receptors. These self-professed experts state or reiterate that without adequate androgen receptor activity, the amount of testosterone you produce is worthless as it will not be utilized. Of course, like many things you see on YouTube, this is at best an oversimplification and more precisely a complete distraction from the actual issue at hand. The more testosterone you produce the greater the upregulation of androgens such as testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and DHEA by androgen receptors in the cells. In other words, the more testosterone you make the more androgen receptors kick into gear to scoop testosterone out of the bloodstream to be utilized at the cellular level. Thus, in most cases, men with low levels of testosterone will have low androgen receptor activity while men with high levels of testosterone will generally have much higher levels of androgen receptor activity. The problem isn’t that many men have optimal levels of testosterone and low androgen receptor activity. The problem is many men have depleted levels of testosterone and therefore diminished androgen receptor activity. Therefore, the most effective way to augment androgen receptor activity and maximize the benefits of testosterone is to you guessed it increase testosterone levels.
Now the best direct method to increase androgen receptor activity is to engage in intense exercise such as resistance training, sprinting, or interval training. I have stated many times that intense exercise is not a comprehensive solution for increasing depleted levels of testosterone as the increase only lasts an hour or less and then you’re right back to baseline. Nevertheless, intense training does in fact increase androgen receptor activity so the testosterone you do have is going to be utilized more effectively than someone who is sedentary. This is why many trainees who engage in intense forms of exercise often have low levels of free testosterone. I see it all the time. Healthy men with great total testosterone levels and optimal levels of SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) yet have low levels of free testosterone. Often when free testosterone is low, total testosterone is depleted as well and SHBG levels tend to be high. However, this is usually a common scenario among sedentary men. Among healthy men who engage in intense training with low levels of body fat and high accounts of muscle, SHBG tends to be low to moderate, total testosterone tends to be on the higher end, yet free testosterone can often be in the middle or lower end of the range. The lower levels of free testosterone are likely due to increased activity by androgen receptors. Androgen receptors scoop the free testosterone out of the bloodstream to be utilized by the cells after intense training. This is why it is a good idea to take a few days off from training before getting testosterone levels tested for a more accurate reading. Of course, this is only necessary for men utilizing natural methods to increase testosterone such as a healthy lifestyle and effective supplements such as ASTB. Men on TRT will have high levels of total testosterone and free testosterone around the clock which is one of the many benefits of TRT. You’re going to have consistently superior training sessions if you enter each workout with elevated testosterone levels and superior recovery if you end each training session with optimal testosterone levels. The big increase in total and free testosterone from utilizing TRT will also result in a large increase in androgen receptor activity as well.
The only supplement that may be useful for increasing androgen receptor activity besides anything that increases overall total and free testosterone such as ASTB is L-carnitine tartrate. 2 grams of L-carnitine tartrate taken post-workout, especially with a meal has been shown to decrease bioavailable testosterone in the blood post training which is an indicator of androgen receptor uptake. While L-carnitine tartrate may be effective in increasing androgen receptor activity after training the operative word is training. You actually have to train intensely and then consume it post-workout to benefit. Just taking L-carnitine tartrate and continuing to be sedentary is not going to be fruitful.
In conclusion, to derive the greatest benefit from the testosterone you’re producing you want to engage in intense training to increase androgen receptor activity. The reason why you have low androgen receptor activity is because you have low levels of testosterone. Therefore in order to improve androgen receptor activity, you have to improve your testosterone levels. Keep in mind that just being in the reference range doesn’t mean that you have optimal levels of testosterone. You may need to be at the high end of the range or even past the high end of the reference range which is just that a reference range to feel your best. This is why legitimate hormone optimization experts treat symptoms more than overly fixating on reference ranges as effective barometers for ideal hormone levels.
